Lent 2: Jesus laments over Jerusalem

I have recently read the book the Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry, it was really good and here is a review of it  from the Guardian.

"This Booker long-listed debut novel begins with the arrival of an unexpected letter and an impulsive act. When Harold Fry, a timid man in his later years, discovers that a former friend and colleague is seriously ill, he sets out with the intention of posting her a letter but instead embarks on 600-mile walk from Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed. He believes that in some way his journey will help his friend to live. Without maps or waterproofs and only yachting shoes on his feet, he walks and walks, while his wife Maureen waits at home; at first she is angered by what she perceives as abandonment but eventually his distance allows her emotions to resurface. She remembers her husband as he once was and everything he once meant to her.

Joyce's writing is clean and simple, at times deceptively so. There are Biblical overtones and elements of parable to Harold's story. Along the way he encounters many different people. Some are moved by his act, others bemused. At one point he attracts a growing band of fellow pilgrims and becomes the centre of a media storm." 

I really enjoyed this book this week as my bedtime reading and thought it quite appropriate as we think about Lent.

A modern parable would be a good way of looking at it – but Harold started out on his journey not really sure why or what he was going to achieve, but over the cause of it he was singleminded in his task and it was interesting that others who joined him fell by the wayside as they didn’t really understand what he was doing.

Why start with this? Well todays reading from the gospel of Luke sees Jesus on his journey towards Jerusalem.
He had started out on it – knowing what he was heading for and he is single minded in his mission to get there and what he had to achieve.

We are too on a journey this lent – journeying with Jesus being challenged to take up our crosses to follow him – are we like him being single minded and can we be challenged this morning from Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem.

So what does this passage teach us about journeying with Jesus – his journey towards Jerusalem.

Firstly this was his mission – it was clear from this passage that he knew when he journeyed towards Jerusalem that he was journeying towards the cross.

He said – it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.

The beginning of the passage is surprising as it seems that some Pharisees are out to help Jesus.

This goes against what we normally think of when we think of Pharisees – as out to harm Jesus, but these seemed to be worried about him and suggest he goes a different way.

But Jesus was not to be deterred – he knew despite Herod that he had to travel that journey – that he was heading towards Jerusalem.

I don’t know about you but I often, mistakenly think that Jesus was so single minded that he never had any doubts – and then I compare myself and I find myself failing in so many ways as I doubt God’s plan for me or even sometimes my faith can appear shaky, so I am left feeling a failure in many different ways.

And yet I think when we look at the stories of Jesus very often we see Jesus needing to go off and spend time with God to as it were re focus where he was and his mission.

We saw that clearly last week in the temptations,

We see it again after the feeding of the 5,000 when in John’s gospel John says that the people were wanting to take Jesus forward as a King and Jesus goes off again.
The temptation to go that way must have been huge but Jesus knows that this is not God’s way and goes off to refocus on God and on the plan he had for his life.

When faced with temptation and doubt what does Jesus do – goes back to his mission, he goes back to his Father and is given the strength to carry on.

So here we see him very clearly when faced with what must have been a temptation to take an easier road he answers determinably based on the mission that he has been given by God.

For us on our Lenten journeys, or indeed on our life  journeys do we give ourselves such time and space to regroup, to refocus on what and where God is calling us.

To focus on our calling as his people to live our Christian lives and then our calling as his people to share in Christ’s mission for the world.

Lent is a time to regroup, to refocus on this.

And as we do we realise that we are going to like Jesus walk the way of the Cross, not an easy journey but one with God beside and before us.

And Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem shows the pain of this journey not only for Jesus but for ourselves as well.

As Jesus looks over Jerusalem we feel the pain that he feels of the rejection that has been apparent not only of himself but for the rejection of God his Father.

Jesus cries over Jerusalem – Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to it!

Pain of rejection of those who have been sent to save the city of Jerusalem.

Jesus feels it – he knows that many have rejected God’s saving love down the centuries and here he shows the emotion of that in the pain he expresses towards Jerusalem.

If Jesus felt the pain of rejection here how many times does he also feel the pain of our rejection of his word.

How many times does he look at Dorney/Eton Wick Church and feel rejected as we focus on things that are not of his love, as we forget to trust in his provision for us, as we personally see other things as our priorities and not him.

But also as Christians we can also feel his pain as we feel the rejection of other people too to his love.

When we share our faith with other people and are dismissed for whatever reason we may feel rejected but Jesus feels it too.

And what should our response be- if we have lives modelled on him then we need to show his mission of love.

His reaction to this rejection is to go straight back to the love of God and he uses one of the most powerful analogies ever to show this.

Jesus says – How I long to gather you despite your rejection under my wings like a mother hen protects her chicks.

Indian Christian, Sadhu Sundar Singh tells us the following story about a bird protecting its young in a fire. When the bird’s nest caught fire, he said to himself:

‘Now the mother-bird will fly away.’ Instead, to my astonishment, I saw her fly down and spread her wings over the young ones. In a few minutes the poor bird was burnt to ashes along with her youngsters. I had never seen anything like it before, and said to those standing near: ‘Are we not astonished at this wonderful love? Think how much more wonderful must be the love of Him who has created such an unselfish love in His creatures. The same infinite and unselfish love brought Jesus Christ down from heaven into this world to become man that, by giving His own life, He might save us who were dying in our sins.’

Jesus her shows the pain of rejection and the mission of love.

This is the love that brought him to walk the road of the cross towards Jerusalem.
This is the love that he wants to pour out to us each day – and in turn this is the sort of love that keeps on giving and giving despite the reaction of others.

If Jesus shows this love then he wants us too to model this love in the world.

He wants us too to pour out his love self sacrificially as we walk too the way of the cross.

This is not easy as we all know too well the pain of rejection but this is our calling as Christians. – to take up our cross, and to follow him.

I started with talking about the book the Unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

In that book we see Harold walking because in some way he thinks his pilgrimage will make his friend live even though she has terminal cancer, in the process we see the healing that takes place not in his friend who eventually dies but in himself and in the relationship he has with his wife.

If we walk the way of the cross – will we make others live. Jesus’ walk brought the offer of life to all, Jesus walk brought healing to the broken hearted.

If we walk in this way not only will we realise the reality of the life that Jesus brings and the reality of healing and wholeness for ourselves – we too will offer the life that Jesus gives and bring healing and wholeness to those who choose to accept this way too.